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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Former MS-13 Leader Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking a Teenage Girl

ALEXANDRIA, VA—A former clique leader of
MS-13 in Maryland pled guilty today for his role in a gang-run juvenile
prostitution ring.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney
for the Eastern District of Virginia; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in
Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office; and
John P. Torres, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington made
the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge
Anthony J. Trenga.

Yimmy Anthony Pineda Penado, also known
as “Critico” and “Spike,” 22, of Montgomery County, Maryland, pled guilty today
to sex trafficking a juvenile. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years
and a maximum of life in prison when he is sentenced on December 14, 2012.

“This is the 11th gang member convicted
with child sex trafficking since 2011,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride.
“Prostituting young girls is a growing threat in our area, and we encourage
anyone with information of this activity to call law enforcement. That one call
could save a girl from sexual slavery.”

“Today’s plea is the direct result of
the joint efforts of law enforcement to combat juvenile prostitution and human
trafficking in Northern Virginia,” said Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin.
“Together with our partner agencies, we will continue to pursue anyone who
attempts to exploit vulnerable young girls for sex and money.”

“Sex trafficking is a deplorable crime,
especially when it involves underage victims who are particularly vulnerable,”
said SAC Torres. “HSI is fully committed to working with our law enforcement
partners to combat human trafficking.”

According to a statement of facts filed
in court, Pineda Penado is a former clique leader of the international street
gang Mara Salvatrucha Thirteen, also known as MS-13. He admitted that in the fall
of 2009 through the spring of 2010, he assisted his fellow gang members in
prostituting at least one teenage girl in hotels, motels, and homes controlled
by MS-13 in Northern Virginia and Maryland. Over a two-week period, the teen
girl was forced to have sex with more than 20 clients, and gang members
provided the juvenile with alcohol and drugs in an effort to make her more
compliant and receptive to being prostituted.

The investigation was conducted by the
FBI’s Washington Field Office and ICE HSI, with assistance from the Fairfax
County Police Department and the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task
Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Patricia T. Giles and Zachary
Terwilliger are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia
Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local
law enforcement agencies—along with nongovernmental organizations—dedicated to
combating human trafficking and related crimes.